For those who love or hate Dick (Smith)

[rgmwa]

Slightly off topic but Singapore airlines allowed me to use my Ansett points after Ansett collapsed, so good on them for that..... 2001 I think........may have already had the flights booked at the time of collapse......not sure.

That's fantastic news! I had no idea. Luckily, I still have about 300,000 Ansett points locked away in the family vault, so I'll give them a call and see how I go.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Downunder]

That's fantastic news! I had no idea. Luckily, I still have about 300,000 Ansett points locked away in the family vault, so I'll give them a call and see how I go.rgmwa

Now now.....no need for that.....

 

 

[rgmwa]

Now now.....no need for that.....

No, it's true. I really did have about 300,000 points, although I admit I may have left my run a bit late now.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Litespeed]

Psst..................anyone want to buy a bridge?

 

Great views, low maintenance, great toll revenue, wooden planks just renewed.

 

Our accountants have valued it at $500,000,000 pacific pesos

 

Offers invited

 

All communication must be via Bermuda

 

 

[Robbo]

I wonder what will happen to David Jones electrical division as they signed an agreement with dickys a few years back.

 

I winder if the electronics lay byed or purchased online with DJ's will be honoured.

 

http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/dick-smith-to-run-djs-electronics-20130812-2rr49.html

 

 

[ozbear]

I think it's actually illegal to trade while insolvent it's called fraud and someone should be charged

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Dicky gets a small fortune in royaltys for using his name remember.

Erm - where did you get that one from Robbo?

 

The way you state it as fact, I imagine you can support it by providing a reference?

 

On one of the Australian Geographic expeditions I spent a week or so with Dick and discussed his sale of DSE to Woolworths - there was no mention of any ongoing royalties that I recall.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Royalties aren't that unusual in business, that's basically how the music and book industries works. Dick is a smart cookie and could see that what he was selling was just cheap Chinese junk and the real value for consumers came from his marketing. Usually there is a good behaviour clause to encourage IP owner not become right wing nut jobs.

 

Kermit Weeks granddad secured 3% of Bass Strait oil revenues ... for perpetuity.

 

 

[Yenn]

What I heard on TV was that Woolies sold Dick Smith to another company and they proceeded to run it down, sell off all the assets and not do any renewal, when the available assets were all gone declared insolvency, after just taking money for lay byes etc. It seems that gift cards will be right at the back of the queue for payment, behind cash. Another legal rip off.

 

 

[Robbo]

Him

 

Erm - where did you get that one from Robbo?The way you state it as fact, I imagine you can support it by providing a reference?

 

On one of the Australian Geographic expeditions I spent a week or so with Dick and discussed his sale of DSE to Woolworths - there was no mention of any ongoing royalties that I recall.

himself on one of his many interviews

 

 

[jetjr]

Good on him, probably has good behavior clauses both ways, if the latest owners have deliberately run down his name he might be a "not so unsecured" creditor

 

Some comments need to be clearer, they may or may not be insolvent but under trading halt (on sharemarket) and have receivers appointed. This gives the directors lots of protection and allows the company to trade while future is determined. Companies can be under receivership for years. A retail name like this its unlikely, too much brand damage.

 

What Yenn said possibly true, a successful buy, float and bail process. multiplied money 5 fold in the process.

 

How do you think the other $400M worth of shareholders feel? Lost more than the gift card holders Id reckon.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Bank did the float. They don't need any introduction when it comes to this sort of activity

 

 

[jetjr]

I'll guarantee they were well paid, plenty must have believed their proposal and forecasts?

 

 

[kgwilson]

Anchorage Capital are the true crooks here but they did it legally by deception turning a $10 million investment into $520 million in 2 years with dodgy books & selling shares to people who did not know how to read accounts. The business was going in one direction from the day they bought it from Woolies. Personally I stopped going t0 Dick Smiths when they got rid of the electronics bits & bobs side of the business. Jaycar is the only one of these left now.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Anchorage did what they had to do to make the business profitable, GS and MB where the ones that determined the business valuation and provided the market advice as part of the float.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Like to know how to make half a Billion dollars with only $10 million? Read on...

Good summary of the dodgy dealings, but done after the fact. I was more impressed with their earlier article https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/bristlemouthdick-smith-takes-bath-comes-out-nice-and-clean/ - posted in September 2013, which smelled a rat back then.

 

 

[aro]

Anchorage did what they had to do to make the business profitable

Missed a word:

 

Anchorage did what they had to do to make the business >look< profitable

 

It doesn't appear that they made any changes to the business, just some accounting number shuffling to produce a paper profit for valuation purposes.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Anchorage could have sat on DS for a long time if they only had $10M of their own money in the game. But $520M right now is too big to ignore, especially if GS and MB are prepared to do the dirty work.

 

Something is definitely wrong at Woolies selling DS with $300M+ worth of stock for $115M and the ongoing debacle of Masters.

 

 

[RetiredRacer]

Dick loves being your champion' date=' the ego can't help itself. [/quote']And his photo in papers and mag's as well as on all of the Dick Smith electronics advertising and on all the shop fronts.... It's called "MARKETING" F.T!!!!! Include a photo of your face in all of your adds and on shop fronts, then set about getting your face on telly, in mags and news papers. You cannot buy that sort of advertising/promotion. Plus you will always buy from someone you know, seeing his face all the time you get to feel you know him = sales!!!!!!! Mr sanders did it with fried chicken, Bob Jane with his T Marts and a hair dresser you would know in Brisbane F.T, just to name a few!!

[fly_tornado]

Everyone knows who owns Australian Geographic, calling it Dick Smith's Aussie Picture Magazine only cheapens the concept.

 

KFC re-branded to get away from the whole deep fried greasy southern hillbilly chicken imagery of Colonel Sanders.

 

Having the owner in the advertising is every advertising agency's nightmare, it really is. It marketing idea from the 50s and 60s.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Everyone knows who owns Australian Geographic, calling it Dick Smith's Aussie Picture Magazine only cheapens the concept. .....

I don't know about 'everyone' FT, obviously you don't know. Dick Smith sold Australian Geographic Magazine to Fairfax 21 years ago ... he only owned it for 9 years, from 1986 to 1995.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

and a hair dresser you would know in Brisbane F.T

What are you saying there exactly .....

 

 

[RetiredRacer]

But they still use the Colonel's face don't they!! It might be from the 60's but it still works or they would not be still using that concept!!

 

 

[RetiredRacer]

What are you saying there exactly .....

Trust you "betterthanbex" :yikes:I was just proving a point here with FT, the hair dresser has become a celebrity here in Qld just because he uses a photo of his face in all his advertising!! As with Dick Smith.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

they stopped using Stevros after the Fitzgerald inquiry